Storage container

ABSTRACT

A storage container, particularly made of plastic, for storing goods, particularly in high-shelf warehouses, consists of a container bottom and side walls that rise from this container bottom. Openings that pass through the container bottom are provided in the bottom. The openings are disposed in depressions, the upper edges of which form the standing surface plane for the goods to be stored.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 of German Application No. 20 2007 011 701.9 filed Aug. 21, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a plastic storage container, for storing goods, particularly in high-shelf warehouses, consisting of a container bottom and side walls that rise from the container bottom.

2. The Prior Art

Such storage containers are intended for interim storage of goods that are packaged in boxes, for example, in high-shelf warehouses, for a specific period of time. Such high-shelf warehouses are automated for loading and unloading, placement into storage and removal from storage, i.e. equipped with robot arms that can be moved between the stacks of containers. The utilization of space in such warehouses is optimized in such a manner that little room remains between stacks of containers.

For this reason, these high-shelf warehouses are equipped with sophisticated sprinkler systems that allow extinguishing water to rain down onto the source of the fire from above if a fire occurs, since intervention from the inside by the fire department is generally not possible.

However, in this connection, the problem occurs that the plastic containers in the uppermost layer in the warehouse, which are generally open towards the top, at first take up the extinguishing water that exits from the sprinkler heads, until they are filled. Only when the uppermost layer of containers runs over does extinguishing water also get into the lower layers, so that in the meantime, the fire is able to spread unhindered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a storage container in which a backup of extinguishing water does not occur.

The invention accomplishes this task via openings that pass through the container bottom, which openings are disposed in depressions, the upper edges of which form the standing surface plane for the goods to be stored.

In this way, the extinguishing water that gets into the containers from above, by way of the sprinkler system, can flow down between the underside of the stored goods and the container bottom, into the depressions, and from there into the openings.

The depressions can be delimited by crosspieces in the bottom on which the goods stand.

In a preferred embodiment, the depressions are grooves formed into the container bottom, in which the openings that pass through the bottom are provided.

This has the advantage, for one thing, that a larger standing surface exists than in the case of the embodiment with crosspieces, but that nevertheless, the water penetrating in from above gets into the openings and from them into the open.

In another embodiment, the grooves form at least one rectangle, whose sides run parallel to the sides of the bottom. Such a geometry has the advantage that existing injection-molding tools can be modified in an uncomplicated manner, in order to form the grooves.

Multiple rectangles formed by the grooves can be provided, whose corners lie on the diagonals of the bottom.

Thus, the water that has penetrated is uniformly distributed over the entire bottom surface, and can flow away by way of the openings which are disposed the corner points of the rectangles and also in the longitudinal and crosswise sides of the rectangles.

In one embodiment, the grooves have a rectangular profile or U profile in cross-section, and the openings are provided in the profile bottom. Thus, the grooves are molded-in parts having an uncomplicated configuration, and it is guaranteed, because the openings are provided in the profile bottom, that goods standing on the container bottom cannot close off the openings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 shows a storage container according to one embodiment of the invention in a perspective representation, seen from above;

FIG. 2 shows a container bottom in detail, seen from above;

FIG. 3 shows a container bottom seen from below; and

FIG. 4 shows a container bottom in detail, seen from below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the figures show a storage container made of plastic, and provided, in general, with the reference symbol 1. It consists of a container bottom 2 and side walls 3 and 4 that rise up from bottom 2, at a right angle in this case. The longitudinal side walls are designated with 3, and the crosswise side walls are designated with 4.

Grooves 5 are formed into the container bottom; their approximately U-shaped cross-section is evident from FIG. 2. Grooves 5 form rectangles that are closed in themselves, and in the present case, four rectangles are provided, the corner points 6 of which lie on the diagonals of the container bottom.

At the corner points 6 of the rectangles, openings 7 that pass through the bottom are provided in grooves 5. Furthermore, such openings are also provided in grooves 5 that run parallel to side walls 3 and 4.

In FIG. 3, container bottom 2 is shown seen from below. There are standing feet 8 in the corner regions of bottom 2. Ribs serve to reinforce bottom 2. It can be seen through ribs 9 that grooves 5 are formed into thickened regions 10 of the bottom in the form of crosspieces, as is clearly evident from FIG. 4.

The goods to be stored stand in containers 1 securely positioned on the surfaces that exist between grooves 5. Water that penetrates in from above can flow down and off between the stored goods and the container bottom, by way of grooves 5 and openings 7.

Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A storage container, comprising: a container bottom; and side walls that rise from said container bottom, wherein the container bottom has openings that pass through the container bottom, wherein the openings are disposed in depressions in the container bottom, and wherein the upper edges of said depressions form a standing surface plane for goods to be stored.
 2. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the depressions are grooves formed into the container bottom.
 3. The storage container according to claim 2, wherein the grooves form at least one rectangle, the sides of which run parallel to sides of the bottom.
 4. The storage container according to claim 3, wherein the rectangles formed by the grooves have corners that lie on diagonals of the bottom.
 5. The storage container according to claim 6, wherein the openings are disposed at the corners of the rectangles.
 6. The storage container according to claim 5, wherein additional openings are disposed on both longitudinal and crosswise sides of the rectangles.
 7. The storage container according to claim 2, wherein the grooves have a rectangular or U profile, and the openings are provided at a bottom of the profile. 